A Chip On The Shoulders
by KirolaiSemperFi
Summary: Tony vs. Eli...Another showdown...


**Disclaimer: NCIS is not mine. **

The elevator doors opened onto the third floor, letting out it's passenger into the busy squad room. Agents were on the phone, walking around, talking, drinking coffee--except for the agents closer to the staircase. There were two of them standing there. The man recognized one of them immediately, sighing as he headed in that direction.

"Come on, McGee!" Tony laughed. "Don't deny the accusations made against you!"

"Tony, I'm--" McGee froze as he saw the mysterious man approach Tony from behind. His fists clenched instantly, and he did his best not to frown or look too upset. His reactions made Tony turn around.

"You?"

"Agent DiNozzo." The man nodded his greeting, looking him straight in the eye. "Where is Agent Gibbs? I must speak to him."

Tony scoffed. "He's busy. What do you need?"

The man sighed, his patience wearing thin. Ignoring the look he got from McGee, he continued to stare into Tony's eyes. "I think you know what I'm here for, so let's get this over with."

Tony crossed his arms. "As I said, Agent Gibbs is busy, but if you want, I can tell him you stopped by. There's no need for you to wait here at all. You can come by later on...if we're not busy, that is."

"Agent DiNozzo," the man stepped forward, anger displayed all over his face, until he was just inches away from the senior field agent. "I realize you must be upset at the moment, but I can care little for what your opinion is! I have chosen to move on, and so must you!"

Tony laughed, causing McGee to gaze up at him. "Well, _Director_, I'm sure you don't give a damn! But this isn't Israel; we're in America now! So I suggest you step back before I'm forced to restrain you."

"Your ego clouds your judgement call," Eli David spat. "Something all snobby Americans possess."

"Well I've got news for you," Tony smiled. "Your daughter's one now."

"Which is the point of my visit--"

"No one asked for you to come."

"Tony," McGee warned. He slowly stood up to stand next to his friend. "Director, if you'll come with me, I'm sure you can wait in a conference room until Agent Gibbs is free."

Eli looked around until he saw Ziva's desk. "I'd prefer to wait here." He walked around the desk and sat in the vacant chair, studying his daughter's well-organized desktop.

The sight was making Tony even more troubled. He turned to McGee and whispered, "Gibbs, Vance, and Ziva are in MTAC. Go up and get them."

Nodding, McGee did as he was told. As soon as he was gone, Eli chuckled.

"Is he your pack mule?"

"Here at NCIS we don't have pack mules; we have Probies." Tony leaned against the front of his own desk, arms still crossed. "But no, he's not--Well, no."

"Doesn't seem like it." Eli commented.

"What exactly do you want, Eli?" Tony demanded.

"It does not concern you, Agent DiNozzo."

"It actually does. You see, I'm betting you're here about Ziva. Am I right?" He didn't wait for the older man to respond. "So," he continued, " the only thing that really brings a...father across seas for his daughter is concern."

"You think I'm concerned for my daughter?" Eli asked. "She's an adult. She has had the training to take care of herself."

Tony restrained himself from reaching over and strangling Eli. He forced a smile onto his face. "You're concerned that she's your last surviving child. She's your last bit of pride that you can show-off to your friends like some...brand new car or something!"

"I don't see how this is--"

"But there's more! You're upset that she resigned; she wants nothing more to do with you! You're the last person she wants to see, and personally, I think you're the last person she _should_ even see!"

"How dare you!" Eli stood in his chair, grabbing the attention of every agent in the squad room, but he didn't care.

Tony stood up straight. "How dare I what? How dare I stop by Somalia to rescue her? How dare I risked my life for her? How dare I care about her?" He took a step forward. "How dare _you_, Director! You left her there to die!"

"I sent--"

"Who? Officer Hadar? Well he did a damn good job getting her back, didn't he?"

Eli was beginning to turn red. "Be careful, Agent DiNozzo. You have crossed the line!"

"See?" Tony laughed. "That's just it! You know it's the truth! You know you don't deserve to see her again!" He took another step closer so that only Ziva's desk blocked them. "And she doesn't want to see you. So why don't you just--" He didn't get to finish.

Eli slammed his fist into the side of Tony's face, causing the younger man to falter.

From the top of the balcony, Vance, Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee, had been watching the scene unfold, joining the rest of the squad room in silence as they were partially shocked by Tony's behavior. As soon as Eli had thrown his punch, though, they all acted.

"Eli!" Vance yelled as Gibbs led his team downstairs in a hurry. "That's enough!"

Ziva and McGee went straight to Tony's side. Ziva ignored her father's angry glare, more concerned about her now-bruised friend. Gibbs, on the other hand, walked up straight to Eli and pulled him towards the elevator.

"Leave!"

"I am not done here--"

"I don't give a damn!" Gibbs punched the down button and shoved Eli inside. "I swear, if you ever come withing two centimeters of any of my agents, I will hunt you down and make sure you can't--" The doors closed before he could finish, and he exhaled deeply, trying to release a lot of the anger that had overcome him so quickly. He rushed back to the bullpen where he saw Ziva and McGee helping Tony sit down.

Tony smiled. "He's gone, then?"

"Yeah. It didn't hafta go that far so you'd get punched, Tony," Gibbs joked.

Tony shrugged. "Eh, it was worth it, Boss." He winked at Ziva as a giant headache attacked his head. "Probie, I need aspirin!"


End file.
